Anticurl strips and methods and apparatus for inserting them



Oct. 28, 1958 B. LlEBOWlTZ 2, 7

ANTICURL STRIPS AND METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INSERTING THEM Filed Oct. 17, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 i 1 .ZIE. E

Oct. 28, 1958 Filed Oct. 17, 1955 B. LIEBOWITZ 2,857,967 ANTICURL. STRIPS AND METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INSERTING THEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a I. 121:. 32 87 g 36 0 2/ A 272 39 I I 2/ I I i Litfiititltj: j

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3/ P" t 33 b t 3 23 35 II 5.5 B INVENTOR:

OCUZB, 1958 B. LIEBOWITZ 2,857,967

ANTICURL STR AND METH S APPARATUS F INSERTIN H Filed Oct. 17, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

BY: v

S. l N-M United States Patent ANTICURL STRIPS AND METHODS AND APPARATUS F INSERTING THEM Benjamin'Liebowitz, Lewisboro, N. Y., assignor to Endsdown Company, Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application October 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,928

6 Claims. (Cl. 16448) In my U. S. Patents Nos. 2,601,035 and 2,601,038 I have described devices for opposing the outward curling tendency of garment parts such as the points of the collars of shirts. These devices take the form of strips which may consist of a thin narrow plastic member, e. g. nylon or mylar about /8" to A" wide and about .010 thick, more or less, to which is attached by sewing a heat-resistant rubber ribbon which initially may be about /8" wide but which is stretched while it is sewn to the plastic strip. The stretching of the rubber ribbon of the anticurl device composed of such a rubber ribbon and a plastic strip to which it is sewn is graduated along the length of the anticurl device so that after the strip is inserted into a shirt collar the stretch of the rubber is at a maximum in the neighborhood of the crotch of the collar and is relatively small in the neighborhood of the point of the collar. The above dimensions are illustrative only and imply no restrictions on the invention disclosed herein.

In the process of manufacture of anticurl devices of the above type, a continuous ribbon of plastic and a continuous ribbon of rubber are simultaneously fed into a specially constructed sewing machine which produces theprecise length of anticurl strip desired, this sewing machine periodically repeat-ing the stretch pattern in periods which colrespond to the predetermined lengths of the several anticurl strips. Machines of this type are described in my Patents Nos. 2,681,019 and 2,681,020, but I have also designed other machines for the same purpose.

it is of the utmost importance that there shall be no cumulative errors when the several strips are cut from the continuous strip formed by a machine of the above type, and such cumulative errors would ordinarily occur if the continuous anticurl ribbon were cut apart after it left the machine which produces it. For this reason, when I first manufactured such strips I cut them apart at the machine which produces the continuous strip. This cutting was done with an. electrically operated solenoid carrying a suitable cutoff blade actuated at the right moment in each cycle of operations. However, as I pointed out in Patent No. 2,681,019, the cutting of the individual strips need not take place at the machine if a proper fiduciary mark is placed on the continuous anticurl ribbon with an apparatus actuated at the proper moment in each cycle.

I have found that in actual practice the handling of the small individual anticurl strips is not entirely satisfactory. I therefore cut the strips from the continuous anticurl ribbon after the latter had left the machine, and as fiduciary marks I used small holes punched in the continuous strip, these small holes serving also as engaging means to be engaged for picking up the free end of the ribbon with a needle designed for such a pickup and for inserting the strip into the collar.

The continuous anticurl ribbon is packaged in a roll and is not in the form of individual strips. Thus, according to the present invention a continuous anticurl ribbon leaves the machine, this anticurl ribbon being provided at intervals along its length with a series of engaging means e. g. in the form of punched holes, these intervals corresponding to the desired lengths of the finished anticurl strips. When leaving the machine the continuous ribbon is packaged in a continuous roll, and when the continuous ribbon is taken from the roll the punched holes serve as fiduciary marks for subsequent cutting of the anticurl ribbon, these punched holes marking the beginning of each cycle of stretch and release of stretch 'in the rubber region.

In addition to serving as fiduciary marks the engaging means, which may be in the form of punched holes, also is used for picking up the free end of the anticurl ribbon for insertion of the same into the collar.

Also, in accordance with the present invention I provide a method and apparatus for (a) feeding a single strip length from the roll, (b) inserting it into the collar, and (0) cutting off the ribbon at the proper point adjacent the succeeding engaging means of the strip. One advantage of these features resides in the fact that when the continuous anticurl ribbon is fed from the roll to be inserted into a collar, the material of the strip is automatically in position for the next collar without requiring individual anticurl strips to be picked up, individually engaged on inserting means, etc. This latter procedure was necessary when the strips were cut apart at the machine which produced them. A further advantage of the above discussed features of the present invention resides in the fact that because of the presence of the engaging means, which may be in the form of punched holes, and because of the general arrangement for carrying out the process, the pickup is practically automatic so that a pair of strips can be handled simultaneously for insertion into each end of the collar, whereas the older method involved separate picking up and separate insertion into each end of the collar.

The problem of constructing a machine for rapidly and conveniently carrying out the process of the invention has been solved in a very effective way. Broadly, the machine of the invention consists of (a) means for bringing the continuous anticurl ribbon into the apparatus and locating it therein in such a way that the posi? tioning of the free end portion of the continuous ribbon is completely controlled, leaving only a short length of the strip exposed at the tip portion thereof which is formed with the punched hole into which a stop pin projects to definitely determine the longitudinal location of the strip; (b) a specially designed inserting needle which has a short spur and an overhanging portion ahead of it, this spur being adapted to cooperate with the engaging means, as by entering the punched hole, when the stop pin is depressed, the overhanging free end portion of the needle, which may have an arrowhead shape, being adapted to enter the pocket in the collar which is to receive the anticurl strip; (0) a slidable means, which may be in the form of a carriage, for holding the inserting needle so that the spur will be properly poised with respect to the stop pin and for pushing the inserting needle forwardly so that the spur thereof will enter the punched hole after the stop pin has been depressed and thereby engage the end of the anticurl strip so that the further forward movement of the inserting needle will also feed the anticurl strip engaged thereby; (d) appropriate means acting on the stop pin so that when the anticurl strip has been advanced to the point where the next engaging means (punched hole) comes in line with the stop pin, this stop pin will automatically jump into this engaging means and prevent further advance of the continuous strip, that is, means which guarantee that the length of strip which is fed forwardly at each insertion cycle is equal to the distance between a pair of successive engaging means; (2) a running ratchet means on the slidable means to prevent the needle with the strip engaged thereby from being retracted during the insertion operation and to require the operator to pull the slidable means or carriage carrying the inserting needle back out of the collar after the insertion of the strip into the collar has been completed; (1) a safety feature which requires that the inserting needle be retracted clear of the collar and of a cutoff means which severs the strip before this cutoff means can be actuated; (g) a clamping device for holding the collar ends after the needle and strip have been inserted; and (h) the above-mentioned cutoff means for severing the continuous strip and operable only after the inserting needles have been fully withdrawn from the collar leaving a single strip length properly located in each end of the collar.

The present invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a roll of continuous anticurl ribbon, Fig. 1 showing a section of the strip from which several anticurl strips are later cut in an unwound position held out straight for ease of illustration (unless constrained to lie straight the anticurl strip will curl up because of the tension in the rubber);

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the roll shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a machine adapted to receive the roll shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and adapted to carry out the operations discussed above;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the machine of Fig. 3 showing a collar clamped in position;

Fig. 5A is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation of an inserting needle according to the present invention;

Fig. 5B shows the needle of Fig. 5A as seen from below Fig. 5A;

Fig. 6 is a detailed side elevation of a sub-assembly showing the inserting needle, the stop pin, and the parts associated therewith, these parts including the cutting means for severing a single anticurl strip from the continuous ribbon;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross section through a collar after the needle and anticurl strip have been inserted into the same and the collar is clamped in position prior to removal of the needle and the subsequent cutting operation;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 respectively show in side elevation successive steps of the process of the invention, these steps being the insertion of the strip into the collar, the withdrawal of the inserting needle, and the cutting ofi, respectively; and

Fig. 11 shows in plan view the completed collar top indicating the position of the anticurl strips in the collar ends, respectively.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that Fig. 1 shows a roll or spool of continuous anticurl ribbon which is generally indicated at 11. This ribbon is rolled on flanged spool 15. The continuous ribbon 11 consists of a suitable plastic support 11a and a stretched rubber strip 11b. The two strips are held together by the stitches 11c. The periodic variable stretch in the rubber is shown in Fig. 2 by the variable width of the rubber 11b, the rubber 1117 becoming narrower at those portions where the stretch becomes higher because of the transverse compression which always takes place when an elastic body is longitudinally stretched. Equally spaced engaging means 12 are provided at intervals along the continuous ribbon 11, and in the example illustrated these engaging means are in the form of holes 12 punched through the continuous strip at intervals corresponding to the lengths of the several successive anticurl strips which are later cut from the continuous ribbon. It will be noted that the tension is shown as a minimum in the neighborhood of the holes 12 and as a maximum at the regions 13 where the rubber is shown as having its smallest width. The regions of maximum stretch 13 occur respectively at distances from the trailing holes 12 equal approximately from one-third to one-fourth of the total distance between holes (more or less, depending upon collar design) so that, when the strip is in the finished collar the region of maximum stretch will fall within from /2 to /1 (more or less) of the collar-banding seam, depending upon the design of the collar. The roll of continuous anticurl strip illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is the product of the machine which produces it, and this product is preferably shipped in this roll form to the garment manufacturer.

Fig. 3 shows in side elevation the machine which is adapted to receive such a roll of continuous anticurl strip and to perform the operations required for insertion of the strips into the collar and for cutting off the individual anticurl strips. As may be seen from Fig. 3 the roll 15 is turnably carried by a suitable stand 16 which is supported on a table 17 which carries the entire machine.

The continuous anticurl strip 11 passes from the roll 15 around a pulley 18 turnably carried by a support means 21 described below, and from the pulley 18 the strip 11 extends through the groove 19 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the strip 11 terminating just beyond the stop pin 20 shown in Fig. 3 in such a way that this stop pin is in the first engaging means 12 (that is, extends through the first hole 12) which is nearest the free exposed tip of the anticurl strip 11. Thus, elements 16, 18 and 19 form a guide means for guiding the continuous strip 11 along a predetermined path.

The groove 19 is formed in the support means 21 which is in the form of a casting and which acts as the support and base for the whole machine. The top of the groove 19 is closed by a plate 22 fixed to the casting 21 and having at its front and rear ends upwardly extending end portions 22a and 22b. The inserting needle 23 is guided through a groove formed in the upstanding end portion 22b of plate 22 (Fig. 4) so that in this way the needle is accurately positioned to engage the engaging means 12 of the anticurl strip. Downward pressure -is applied to the inserting needle adjacent its right free end, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 6, in the rest position of this needle shown in Figs. 3 and 6, by means of a cross piece 24 urged downwardly by a spring 25 which presses on this cross piece, the pressure of the spring 25 being adjusted by the nut 26 as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The screw which threadedly carries the nut 26 and about which the spring 25 is coiled passes freely through an opening of the cross piece 24 and is fixed to and extends upwardly from the plate 22 from a point between the ends 22a and 22b thereof, this point being nearer to end 22b than end 22a, as indicated in the drawings. The cross piece 24 has forwardly and rearwardly extending centrally located projections which extend into notches formed in the front and rear ends 22a and 22b of plate 22 to guide the cross piece 24 for vertical movement while preventing the same from turning about the axis of the screw member.

It will be understood that while the discussion above and below is concerned with a single inserting needle and a single stop pin, etc., the machine is actually provided with pairs of these elements, as indicated particularly in Fig. 4, so that the insertion operation is performed simultaneously on both ends of the collar.

The inserting needle 23 has an elongated shank which is clamped at its end distant from plate 22 to a slidable carriage means 27 which is substantially 'U-shaped so that it is provided with a front and a rear upwardly extending wall, this carriage 27 also having a downwardly extending lug 27a which substantially forms a downward extension of the rear wall of the carriage. As is apparent particularly from Fig. 4 the rear free end portion of each needle 23 is clamped to the outer side of each carriage 27 by a clamping member 28 which is threadedly engaged by a screw 29 passing through the carriage 27. The carriage 27 is preferably made of bronze or another good bearing material. A plate 29' extends along the top of each carriage 27 over the space between the front and rear legs thereof, and the bottom surface of the plate assume 29 is formed between the front and rear legs of the carriage 27 with a wedge-shaped downwardly directed cut out 29a. The carriage 27 is slidably carried by a rod 30 of square cross section which extends toward the region Where the free end of ribbon 11 is located, the carriage being formed in its front and rear legs with nicely broached bores of square cross section having a close but fairly free sliding lit with the rod 30 so that the carriage slides along the rod 30 without material shake or play and at the same time without any substantial friction. Each carriage 27 is also provided with a hand grip composed of a lever 31 pivotally supported by the carriage at 32 (Fig. 3) and of a handle member 35 fixed to the rear end of the carriage. A roller 33 is rotatably carried by the lever 31 in a position between the rod 30 and the wedge-shaped cutout 29a. A wire spring 34 passes about the pivot pin 32 which turnably supports lever 31 on carriage 27 and engages the roller 33 and the lever 31 for urging the roller 33 forwardly, that is, to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, so that the roller tends to jam between rod 30 and plate 29' in the wedge-shaped cutout 29a of the latter.

The operator may engage the handle 35 to push the carriage 27 forwardly along the rod 30. The arrangement of the roller 33 on the lever 31, which tends to wedge the roller between rod 30 and plate 29" in the cutout 29a of the latter, constitutes a running ratchet. When the carriage is pushed forward by pressing on the handle 35 the carriage moves in the free running direction, which is to say that the running ratchet is released by movement in this direction. However, when there is no pressure urging the carriage forwardly the spring 34 immediately causes the mechanism to jam so that it cannot be retracted. Thus, the structure of the invention includes a means which prevents the material feeding member 23 from being retracted during its forward feeding stroke. However, if for any reason the operator desires to retract the needle 23 before it ends its forward feeding stroke, the operator need only pull rearwardly on the hand lever 31 so as to release the roller 33 from its wedging position and the carriage slides back freely.

The rearmost, rest position of carriage 27 is determined by a screw 36 against which the rear face of the carriage abuts in the rest position of the latter. This screw extends threadedly through a threaded bore of the support means 21 and may be turned so as to adjust the rest position of the carriage 27. The adjustment of the screw is such that when the carriage abuts against it the right free end of the needle 23 will be in the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 6 relative to the stop pin 20.

The square rods 30 are'mounted on the support means 21 by means of a clamping member 37 pressed downwardly by a screw 33 passing through the clamping member into threaded engagement with the support means at the upwardly extending left free end 21a of the support means 21, as viewed in Fig. 3. This free end 21a of the support means 21 is hollow and houses a pair of limit switches, e. g. microswitches 39 each of which may be closed by a switch operating member 40 slidably carried by each carriage in the downwardly extending lug 27a thereof. That is, this lug 27a is formed with a bore through which the switch operating member 40 slidably extends. The switches 39 are located in a position which prevents them from beingclosed by the push rods 40 unless the carriage 27 abuts against the screw 36.

In other words, the switch operating member 40 has to be moved through a certain distance beyond the left end of carriage 27 in order to close the switch 39, and this distance is equal to the distance between the rear face of carriage 27, when the latter is in its rest position against screw 36, and the portion of switch 39 engaged by member 40 at the instant when the switch closes. Therefore, if the carriage 27 is spaced forwardly from the screw 36 the rearward movement of operating member 40 will not result in closing of the switch 39. Switch 39 is used to.

actuate a cutting means, and therefore this cutting means cannot be operated unless the carriage is fully retracted to the position where it engages the screw 36. This feature guarantees that when the cutoff means is actuated it will not strike the end of the inserting needle. As has been mentioned above, the structure described is duplicated so that anticurl strips may be simultaneously inserted into both ends of the collar, and thus there are two microswitches 39. As a safety measure both of these microswitches are connected in series into the circuit of the pair of cutting means, and as a result it is essential that both switches be closed at the same time in order to actuate the two cutoff means. Thus, it is necessary for the operator to push both switch operating members 40 to the rear in order to actuate the cutting means, so that both hands of the operator are used to engage the push buttons 40 when the cutting takes place, and as a result it is impossible for the operator to accidentally have his hands adjacent the cutoff means where he might become injured.

The support means 21 has an elongated substantially central portion located just to the left of table 17, as viewed in Fig. 3, and at this elongated central portion the support means 21 is formed with a vertical bore in which a rod 45 reciprocates longitudinally. A spring 46 is coiled about the rod 45 in an enlarged portion of this bore and engages at its top end a plate 21P fixed to the top of the casting 21 and formed with a bore through which the rod 45 slidably passes. It is this plate 21P (Fig. 6) which is formed with the groove 19 through which the ribbon 11 extends. The coil spring 46 abuts at its bottom end against a collar fixed to the rod 45. Thus, the spring 46 urges the rod 45 downwardly. At its top free end which is located at an elevation higher than the plate 21P the rod 45 fixedly carries a presser member 47. It is again pointed out that only a single side of the machine is being described in order to give in detail the structure for accomplishing one insertion, but it is to be understood that the machine is equipped to perform two insertions simultaneously. However, there is only one centrally located rod 45 and spring 46 acting on the same, and the presser member 47 extends transversely across the machine and has a pair of downwardly extending laterally spaced free end portions which clamp the collar ends, as is indicated particularly in Fig. 4.

A lever 48 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on a pivot pin 50 fixed to the support means 21, and this lever 48 is linked to an elongated actuating rod 49 which is in turn linked at its bottom end (not shown) to a treadle which enables the operator to reciprocate the rod 49 longitudinally so as to turn the lever 48 in both directions about the pivot 50. This lever 48 is formed with a pair of openings 51 and 52. The 'stop pin 20 is supported for longitudinal reciprocating movement in a suitable bore of the support means 21, and a transverse pin 53 is fixed to the stop pin 20 and extends into opening 51 of the lever 48. Similarly, a transverse pin 54 fixed to the rod 45 extends into the opening 52 of the rod 45. It will be noted that the openings 51 and 52 are considerably larger than the members 53 and 54 which extend into the same, respectively. A spring 20a is coiled about the stop pin 20, engages with its bottom end a portion of the support means 21, and with its top end a collar fixed to the stop pin 20 so that the spring 20a urges the stop pin 20 upwardly to its operating position where the top free end portion of the stop pin 20 extends through an engaging means of the strip 11.

The relationship between pin 53 and opening 51, 'on the one hand, and pin 54 .and opening 52, on the other hand, is as follows:

When tension is applied by the operator to the rod 49 so as to move this rod 49 downwardly and turn the lever 48 in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 50, as viewed in Fig. 3, the result is that the rod 45 is raised against the influence of the spring 46 in order to raise the presser member 47 to permit the collar to be placed under the presser member 47 preparatory to clamping the collar between presser member 47 and the top surface of the plate 21F. The clearance of pin 53 in opening 51 is suflicient to allow the presser member 47 to be raised without raising the stop pin 20, this stop pin 20 having fixed thereto a collar which engages a stationary portion of the support means 21 to limit the upward movement of the stop pin 20 to the operating position thereof shown in Fig. 3. On the other hand, when the rod 49 is raised by the operator the lever 48 turns in a clockwise direction about the pivot 50 and the clearance between pin 54 and opening 52 is sufficient to allow the stop pin 20 to be lowered to an inoperative position out of engagement with the ribbon 11 without moving the rod 45 which is limited in its downward movement under the action of spring 46 by the engagement between presser member 47 and the plate 21P.

The support means 21 is also formed with another vertical bore in which an elongated rod 55 is vertically slidable, and this elongated rod 55 fixedly carries at its top end which is located above the plate 21P a cross member 56 each end of which fixedly carries a pair of downwardly directed cutoff blades 57, so that these latter elements form part of a cutting means for cutting the strip, as will be apparent from the description which follows. The bottom end of the rod 55 is fixed to the movable armature 58a of a solenoid 58 carried by they support means 21 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. A spring 59 is coiled about the rod 55 and engages at its top end a shoulder formed on the rod 55 and at its bottom end a stationary part of the support means 21, so that this spring 59 urges the rod 55 together with the armature 58a upwardly to a rest position. The solenoid 58 is energized by an electrical circuit, diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 3, which includes the pair of switches 39 both of which must be closed by shifting of the switch operating members 40 when the carriages 27 are retracted to their rest positions, respectively, as described above. The support means 21 is fixed to the table 17 at the extension 2112 of the casting 21, and this support means 21 may be further supported by a downwardly extending rod portion 21c which engages the floor.

Referring to Fig. 2, the cut off is made in such a way that the ends of each individual anticurl strip are curved, as indicated at 14 in dotted lines. In order to produce such rounded ends each cutting means is provided with a pair of cutting edges as is clearly shown in Fig. 6, these cutting edges being spaced from each other and rounded to produce the curved ends 14. The cutting operation leaves a short piece of anticurl strip to A3" long) in the space between the two cutting edges. An ejector means is provided to prevent this waste material from clogging the cutting means, and this ejector means includes a pin 61 passing through an opening in the knife 57 into the space between the two curved cutting edges, as is indicated in Fig. 6. The ejector pin 61 has an enlarged head end which abuts against a plate .62 when the cutoff means is in its upper rest position shown in Figs. 3 and 6, and this plate 62 is fixedly mounted on the support means 21 by means of a rod 63. When the cutoff means suddenly moves down upon energizing of the solenoid the pin 61 is sufficiently long so it will not move out of the bore of the knife 57 through which it extends. After the strip is cut and the spring 59 returns the cutting means to its rest position with a piece of waste material located between the pair of curved cutting edges, the ejector pin 61 moves upwardly with the cutting means until its head end engages the end surface of the stationary plate 62 so that the blade 57 then continues to move up with respect to the ejector pin 61 and as a result the latter forces the waste material out of the needle are illustrated in Figs. 5A and 5B. As is apparent from these figures the elongated shank portion of the needle 23 has connected to its front end an elongated front end portion of the needle which sweeps upwardly and then downwardly as it approaches the tip 23A which is preferably of an arrowhead shape. Adjacent the part of the needle where the curved elongated front end portion is joined to the shank the needle is provided with a spur 23B which curves downwardly and forwardly and which hooks into the engaging means of the strip formed by the openings 12. This needle forms a particularly suitable feeding member for feeding the anticurl strip into an elongated collar pocket since the front end of the needle greatly facilitates entry of the needle into the collar pocket together with the anticurl strip, the spur 23B having been previously inserted into the hole 12.

The operation of the above-described structure is as follows:

The operations start with the parts in the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 6, that is, with the stop pin 20 extending into the hole 12 next to the free end of the strip 11. The first step is the downward movement of stop pin 20 to an inoperative position below the strip 11, and the operator performs this step by actuating the treadle so as to move the rod 49 up and turn the lever 48 in a clockwise direction. Then the carriage 27 is pushed forwardly and the spur 23B is urged downwardly by the spring-pressed cross piece 24 to enter into the hole 12 which has just been evacuated by the stop pin 20. The operator then continues to move the carriage forwardly toward the region where the free end of the strip 11 is located, and the operator releases the foot treadle so that the lever 48 returns to its intermediate neutral position shown in Fig. 3, and in this position the stop pin 21 is released for movement back to its operating position. The relatively weak spring 20a. urges the stop pin 20 upwardly, and the forwardly moving strip 11 rides along the top end of the stop pin until the next hole in the strip 11 becomes aligned with the stop pin which then immediately jumps upwardly into this hole and prevents further forward feeding of the strip together with the needle and carriage. As a result the mechanism can only feed a length of the continuous strip which is equal to the distance between a pair of successive holes, and this is of great significance since in this way cumulative errors are completely eliminated.

Fig. 8 of the drawings illustrates the position of the parts when the forward travel of the strip 11 has been stopped by the stop pin 20. With the parts in this position the collar pockets are slipped over the needle and strip 11, and the beginning of this operation is also indicated in Fig. 8. In order to facilitate starting the pockets onto the needle 23 and strip 11 a small notch may be provided in the upper ply 70B of the collar (that is, the back ply of the collar), as indicated in Fig. 8. Also, prior means may be provided to open the mouth of the pocket, and such means are of no pertinence to the present invention. After the front ends of the needle and strip are located in the collar the collar is slipped over the needle by being advanced rearwardly therealong so that the anticurlstrip is located to the full extent intended in the pocket.

The position of the parts when the needle and strip are located completely within the pocket is illustrated in Fig. 9. During the slipping of the collar pockets along the needles and strips, the presser member 47 is maintained in its raised position indicated in Fig. 8, and this is accomplished by actuation of the treadle to move the rod 49 down so as to raise the rod 45. When the slipping on of the collar is completed the treadle is released and the presser member 47 moves downwardly to clamp the collar between the presser member 47 and the plate 21P, and the position of the parts at this time is illustrated in 9 Fig. 9 and is shownin cross section in Fig. 7. Also, Fig.4 shows how the collar is clamped.

The presser member 47 now remains down and the stop .pin20 remains in its operating position shown in Fig. 9, and at this time the carriage 27 is retracted, the operator pulling rearwardly on the handle 31 in order to release the running ratchet mechanism. When'the carriage has been fully retracted so that it abuts against the screw 36 the operator presses both buttons 40 rearwardly (with both hands as indicated above) so as to close the seriesconnected switches 39 and thus energize the solenoid 58 which operates the cutting means. An individual anticurl "strip is thus severed from each of the two continuous 'strips carried by the machine, and Fig. shows the posi- "tion which the parts take when the cutting means is at the bottom end of its cutting stroke.

The operator now releases the switch operating members 40 which are returned to their inoperative position by springs, respectively, one of these springs being shown in Fig. 3 between the downwardly extending lug 27A of carriage 27 and the enlarged head at the right end portion of the switch operating member 4t), and thus the spring 59 returns the cutting means upwardly to its rest position, the waste material being ejected in the manner described above. The rod 49 is again manually actuated in order to raise thepresser member 47 and the collar with the completely inserted anticurl strips is removed from the machine. It should be noted that during the retraction of the carriages to remove the needles 23 from the pockets the stop pins 129 in cooperation with the engaging means of the continuous strip formed by the holes therein prevent the strips from being retracted with the needles and in this way the strips remain in the collar pockets, respectively. After removal of the collar the presser member 47 is released and the machine is now ready for the next collar.

It is again emphasized that all of the parts are duplicated with the exception of centrally located rods which carry duplicate parts, such as the rod 45 and the rod 55. The plan view shown in Fig. 4 is believed to illus' trate the duplication adequately. The remaining figures show only one side of the machine in order not to make the drawings and description unnecessarily elaborate.

The finished length of each individual anticurl strip is equal to the distance between a pair of successive holes less the length of Waste material between the cut off edges. For this reason the claims in referring to the distance between a pair of successive engaging means (which may be the holes shown, or notches, projections, 'or the like) state that this distance corresponds to the :length of an anticurl strip rather than is equal to the length of an anticurl strip.

Furthermore, although certain parts of the structure in the claims are referred to as being manually operable, this term is taken to mean parts operated by foot as well as by hand.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of strip feeding process and apparatus differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an anticurl strip feeding process and apparatus, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended 10 to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for successively feeding successive portions of an elongated strip having a plurality of engaging means distributed along the same at intervals corresponding in length to said successive portions, respectively, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the strip to a position where a free end thereof, adjacent to an engaging means of the strip, is accessible; stop means movably carried by said support means for movement to and from an operating position engaging one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent feeding of the latter; feeding means carried by said support means for feeding the strip along said guide means; manually operable moving means op eratively connected to said stop means for moving the same away from its operating position to free said strip for movement by said feeding means; spring means engag ing said stop means for urging the same back to its operating position to engage the next engaging means, located after the engaging means previously engaged by said stop means, for limiting the extent to which the strip is advanced by said feeding means; and cutting means for cutting the strip just ahead of the stop means.

2. A machine for successively feeding successive portions of an elongated strip having a plurality of engaging means distributed along the same at intervals corresponding in length to said successive portions, respectively, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the strip to a position where a free end thereof, adjacent to an engag ing means of the strip, is accessible; stop means movably carried by said support means for movement to and from an operating position engaging one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent feeding of the latter; feeding means carried by said support means for feeding the strip along said guide means; moving means operatively connected to said stop means for moving the same away from its operating position to free said strip for movement by said feeding means and for moving said stop means back to its operating position to engage the next engaging means, located after the engaging means previously engaged by said stop means, for limiting the extent to which the strip is advanced by said feeding means; cutting means for cutting the strip just ahead of the stop means and electrical operating means operatively connected to said cutting means for operating the same.

3. A machine for successively feeding successive portions of an elongated strip having a plurality of engaging means distributed along the same at intervals corresponding in length to said successive portions, respectively, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the strip to a position where a free end thereof, adjacent to an engaging means of the strip, is accessible; stop means movably carried by said support means for movement to and from an operating position engaging one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent feeding of the latter; feeding means shiftably carried by said support means for movement along a feeding stroke engaging said engaging means of said strip and feeding the latter along said guide means and for movement along a return stroke back to a rest position of said feeding means; moving means operatively connected to said stop means for moving the same away from its operating position to free said engaging means of said strip for engagement by said feeding means during said feeding stroke of the latter and for moving said stop means back to its operating position to engage the next engaging means, located after the engaging means already engaged by said feeding means, for limiting the extent to which the strip is advanced by said feeding means; and means engaging said feeding means during movement thereof along its feeding stroke to prevent movement of said feeding means along its return stroke until said stop means engages said next engaging means.

4. A machine for successively feeding successive portions of an elongated strip having a plurality of engaging means distributed along the same at intervals corresponding in length to said successive portions, respectively, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the strip to a position where a free end thereof, adjacent to an engaging means of the strip, is accessible; stop means movably carried by said support means for movement to and from an operating position engaging one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent feeding of the latter; feeding means shiftably carried by said support means for movement along a feeding stroke engaging said engaging means of said strip and feeding the latter along said guide means and for movement along a return stroke back to a rest position of said feeding means; moving means operatively connected to said stop means for moving the same away from its operating position to free said engaging means of said strip for engagement by said feeding means during said feeding stroke of the latter and for moving said stop means back to its operating position to engage the next engaging means, located after the engaging means already engaged by said feeding means, for limiting the extent to which the strip is advanced by said feeding means; and means engaging said feeding means during movement thereof along its feeding stroke to prevent movement of said feeding means return stroke until said stop means engages said next engaging means; and manually operable release means for freeing said feeding means for return movement before said feeding means reaches the end of its feeding stroke.

' 5. A machine for supplying portions of predetermined lengths of a continuous strip having engaging means spaced along its length at intervals corresponding respectively to said predetermined length, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the continuous strip along a predetermined path so that the plurality of engaging means of the strip will pass one after the other through a given area; an elongated stop pin carried by said support means for longitudinal reciprocating movement to and from an operating position where a free end portion of said stop pin extends into said area into engagement with one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent movement of the latter along said path; spring means carried by said support means and engaging said pin for urging the same to said operating position thereof; means movably carried by said support means and operatively connected to said stop pin for moving the same against the force of said spring means out of said operating position thereof; and feeding means for feeding a strip along said path after said stop means is moved out of :said operating position thereof and until said spring means moves said stop means into engagement with the next engaging means.

6. A machine for supplying portions of predetermined lengths of a continuous strip having engaging means spaced along its length at intervals corresponding re-' spectively to said predetermined lengths, comprising, in combination, support means; guide means carried by said support means for guiding the continuous strip along a predetermined path so that the plurality of engaging means of the strip will pass one after the other through a given area; an elongated stop pin carried by said support means for longitudinal reciprocating movement to and from an operating position where a free end portion of said stop pin extends into said area into engagement -with one of the engaging means of the strip to prevent movement of the latter along said path; spring means carried by said support means and engaging said pin for urging the same to said operating position thereof; manually operable means movably carried by said support means and operatively connected to said stop pin for moving the same against the force of said spring means out of said operating position thereof; and feeding means for feeding a strip along said path after said stop means is moved out of said operating position thereof and until .said spring means moves said stop means into engagement with the next engaging means; a rod parallel to said stop pin carried by said support means for longitudinal reciprocating movement; a cutting blade carried by said rod and located over said given area to cut the strip when said rod descends sufiiciently; and solenoid means operatively connected to said rod for reciprocating the latter in order to cut the strip when said solenoid means is energized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 978,598 Knaus Dec. 13, 1910 1,050,436 Edison Jan. 14, 1913 1,127,975 Elwing Feb. 9, 1915 1,357,356 Smith Nov. 2, 1920 1,400,742 Grumstrup Dec. 20, 1921 1,625,403 Stevens Apr. 19, 1927 1,710,395 Williams Apr. 23, 1929 2,144,684 McClung Jan. 24, 1939 2,618,085 Gersbach Nov. 18, 1952 2,723,061 Liebowitz Nov. 8, 1955 

